The off season
by CarsLover97
Summary: *Non humanized* Lightning is at home for the off season where his romance with Sally blossoms more than ever before. Set after Cars 1, before Cars 2. Rated M for very sexual chapters.
1. He's back!

It was another scorching hot day in Radiator Springs. Everyone was at Flo's enjoying some cool refreshing oil except Lightning and Doc.

Sally paced around anxiously, "When are they going to be finished?" She sighed.

"Honey stop worrying," Flo replied, pushing another can of oil towards her.

"I can't help it!" Sally snapped, coming to a halt. Everyone went quiet and stared at her. She took in a deep breath then exhaled slowly. "I'm sorry Flo, I just don't want to see him overheat again. I mean look at this weather! It's ten times hotter than the last time." She began pacing again.

"He's a tough kid," Sheriff nodded, "I think he's learned after the last time, now don't be worrying Sally."

Sally sighed and slowly came to a halt.

"I guess you're right." She smiled falsely and took a sip of her oil.

Just a few weeks ago, on another day like this, Lightning had pushed himself too hard and ended up overheating his engine. It was so bad he could hardly move for a week as his engine struggled to work again. She didn't want to see him stuck in hospital for another week; she wanted to spend every moment she could with him in his short off season.

"I'm gonna check up on him," Sally frowned, "He's been practicing for a while." With that Sally sped off towards Willy's Butte, knocking her oil over in the process.

Once she arrived she approached Doc, standing on the side lines of the track yelling at Lightning.

"Hi Doc," She smiled.

He spun around quickly, "Oh hey Sally. Checking up on us again?" He said sarcastically.

She frowned slightly "Well yeah… I don't want to see him hurt again."

Doc shook his head "Sally it's not going to happen again, now he knows not to drive so fast in this weather."

"Yeah, okay." She murmured as Lightning came speeding past, sending a shower of dust behind him.

"Alright rookie!" Doc yelled, "That's enough for today, you need some rest."

"One more lap!" Lightning yelled back, continuing on at blazing speeds.

"That boy," Doc laughed.

"That doesn't look very slow," Sally yelled anxiously. Doc mumbled to himself about 'women.'

Lightning skidded to a halt, "Sally!" He called with a beaming smile, and then cut through the bushes at the centre of the track to get to her faster.

"Stickers!" She grinned, driving down the embankment, meeting him half way.

They reached each other, closed their eyes and pressed their lips together. After a while Lightning pulled away "Oh Sally I've missed you." He whispered with a grin.

"I've missed you too Stickers, more than you'd know." She sighed and looked down.

"Hey what's wrong?" he asked.

"Well nothing's wrong," She smiled, looking back up at him.

Lightning peered into her gorgeous emerald eyes, a little confused.

"Now that you're here." She added and kissed him again.


	2. A quiet drive

Lightning and Sally left the track and were cruising down the smooth road Lightning had paved.

"You know, I've really missed you Stickers," She sighed, nuzzling into the left side of his bonnet.

"I know Sal, I missed you too," He smiled. "I wanted to see you earlier today but you we're still asleep when I arrived, I got Mack to drive straight all night just to see you as soon as I could."

Sally blushed, "Oh oops… I'm sorry Stickers I didn't know you'd be back so early."

"Nah it's okay." He smiled. "I got to watch you sleep, you looked so peaceful, and I didn't want to disturb you."

Sally stopped abruptly, her eyes wide. "You… You watched me sleep?" She blushed so hard the sides of her bonnet almost turned purple.

Lightning looked down and scuffed his tire on the road. "Well yeah… It was really nice to see you looking so beautiful and peaceful… You don't mind do you?" He blushed, looking back up at her, with a nervous look in his deep sapphire eyes.

Sally didn't know what to say. She felt a wave of embarrassment sweep over her and her whole body becoming hot. "I…" She stammered, "Wow." She blushed even harder.

Lightning could tell how awkward he had made her feel. "I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd be so embarrassed about it."

Sally frowned, "No Stickers it's okay, I don't mind. It's just; we haven't even slept together yet." She said slowly, blushing again.

He smiled back, "Okay sweetie, well it's up to you if you want to do that." He kissed her door gently before driving forwards slightly.

The sun was beginning to set and the sky was turning into a mishmash of pink and orange. Lightning looked up and smiled, the sunset would be beautiful up at Wheel Well.

"Come on," He grinned, "Let's go for a drive, up to Wheel Well?"

"Or we could race," She giggled as she sped off ahead of him. "Catch me if you can!"

"Oh yeah, ka chow!" He shouted before speeding after her.

"Look at those two," Lizzie smiled to herself. "I remember when Stanley used to take me out for our little drives."


	3. The setting sun

"Aha I win!" Lightning cried, reaching the entrance to the Wheel Well motel just ahead of Sally. He spun around swiftly and winked at her.

"Too close to call I'd say." She snapped, cruising past him before bursting into laughter.

"Yeah whatever!" He scowled playfully, "It's quiet here." He observed.

"Yeah." Sally nodded, "People mainly come here to get a glimpse of the 'fabulous Lightning Mcqueen' and usually you aren't here at this time of year so…" She trailed off.

"I see." He said sheepishly. "Nobody comes here otherwise?"

"Nope." She frowned, turning to him sharply, glaring at him.

He shifted on his tires uneasily, "I'm sorry Sally I didn't-"

Her expression changed dramatically, "I'm just kidding." She chuckled. "It's summer now, which is far too hot for most travellers to go to the desert. I mean, the 'fabulous Lightning McQueen' even overheated here." She teased.

"Hey that was one time." He protested.

"Well I've never overheated here. Neither has Mater, Doc, Sarge, Fillmore, Ram-"

"Okay I get it!" He interrupted. "You guys don't have to drive hundreds of laps." He smirked defensively.

"You got me there." She giggled.

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, before the radiant sky colours caught Lightning's eye.

"Wow, look at the sky." He gasped, driving towards the edge of the road, looking down on the beautiful landscape becoming shrouded in an orange glow laced with sparkles.

Sally parked herself next to him and gazed up at the sky. "It's beautiful isn't it. When your away racing I come up here and sit by myself, watching the night roll in." She sighed.

He looked over to her and saw the sadness in her eyes. "Well I'm here with you now." He whispered, reaching out his tire to touch hers.

She smiled softly. "You know, there's something I've wanted to do all year long."

"What's that?" He asked eagerly, he wanted to please Sally as best he could in the short time he was here.

"Well. I think you want to do it too." She smirked.

He looked at her, clueless, "I do?" He asked nervously.

"Well I hope so at least." She glanced at him and her emeralds locked with his sapphires.

"I'm a little confused." He admitted.

"Maybe this will help you understand." She smirked, reversing slightly so she was able to kiss her way down his side.

His eyes widened as he realised what she was asking him for. He felt things harden under him and he sunk closer to the ground, afraid she might see the hardened metal under him.

"What's wrong?" She asked, confused.

"Uhh nothing." He assured her.

"This is too soon isn't it." She said awkwardly, "I'm sorry Stickers, don't worry about it okay?"

"No!" His mind screamed. He'd been longing for moment and he was going to throw it all away because he was a little embarrassed?

"No!" He said loudly. Realising how desperate he sounded, he rephrased. "I mean… No, it's not too soon really. I'm just you know… A little embarrassed." He said shyly.

"Oh." Sally smiled. "So Stickers, why are you slowly sinking lower?" She teased.

"I uhh… You know…" He searched for the right words, the words that wouldn't make him sound like a completely clueless idiot or a stereotypical horny guy. "You got me a bit excited." He said quietly, looking down at the ground.

She smirked, enjoying being able to tease him for once. "Another time." She added.

"Yeah." He said shyly with a hint of disappointment, "Another time."


	4. Morning mayhem

Sally yawned quietly then slowly opened her eyes slightly before closing them tight once again. She wriggled her tires slightly, trying to make herself comfortable.

"Wait a second." She thought, wriggling her tires again. Dirt? Why am I sleeping outside?

She opened her eyes quickly and looked down at her tires.

"Wheel Well?" She panicked. "Why the hell am I at Wheel Well?" She looked around desperately, there no sign of anybody except her. The sun was high in the sky and caused her to squint.

"What time is it!" She demanded in a panicked tone.

"It's 1 PM." A voice called from behind her.

"Oh god!" She yelled, turning sharply, it was just Lightning.

"Lightning!" She cried, "What the hell am I doing here?"

"Well I guess we fell asleep here last night," He said nervously, "Why what's wrong?"

"I have so much to do today I couldn't afford to sleep this long!" She looked around again, before a wave of terror hit her.

"Oh god, the Cozy Cone!" She shrieked before speeding down the road back to town.

"Sally!" Lightning called, racing after her.

"Sally… Sally! Slow down!" He yelled, trying to keep up with her.

"She's really fast." He thought to himself, "If I was against a panicked Sally in the Piston cup I don't know if I'd be able to win."

He finally caught up and pulled up alongside her, "Sally! What's wrong? Tell me please." He begged.

"This is all your fault!" She snapped, "Why did you have to come back early anyway, you never have before!"

"Sal, I wanted to see you! Don't you understand?" He said, hurt.

"I understand completely!" She growled. "But I have a life too Lightning, and sometimes it's nice to be able to do my own thing and accomplish my own goals without having paparazzi swarm me!"

Hurt, he slowed down and quickly came to a halt.

"Sally…" He whimpered quietly to himself, watching her continue speeding on, faster than before. Once she was out of sight he welled up with tears, "She never calls me Lightning."

After a while of lingering in the middle of the road he turned into a forest clearing. He ventured into the woods a little, until he found a dark spot with large trees eclipsing the light that would normally shine through. He splayed his tires wide and dropped himself onto the mossy grass. He had a good view of the road from here, the road that Sally had raced down to get away from him.

He sighed softly, "Maybe it's time for me to give up racing. I mean, I love it but, I love Sally more. I haven't been doing it that long but I can retire whenever I want right?"

He frowned at the thought. "Sally." He muttered bitterly, "She just left me to get on with her life."

"It's not like I do th-" He paused before he let out a long sigh. "I do that don't I. I leave her for some stupid race to win more stupid cups." He said a little angrily. "Always my life before hers."

He continued lying in the grass for a while, watching the occasional car pass on the road.

"I need to make this right." He frowned, slowly raising himself back onto his wheels before making his way back to town.


	5. Giving it up

Lightning drove slowly into the empty town. There was nobody to be seen, nobody even relaxing at Flo's in the blistering heat.

"Why's it so quiet." He thought to himself, glancing up at the sun which glared back at him.

He stopped dead underneath the usually blinking traffic light, but it wasn't even turned on.

"Hello?" He said uneasily, "Is anyone here?"

He looked around slowly and examined each area of the town.

"Hello?" He called, driving forwards slowly heading towards the Cozy Cone.

He approached the entrance and peered inside, "Sally?" He yelled awkwardly.

"SURPRISE!"

He let out a terrified scream and flipped around quickly to find the whole of the town grinning at him.

He panted heavily and shouted angrily. "Are you all trying to kill me?!"

Sally motored up to him and kissed his side softy. He looked over at her, puzzled.

"I thought you were mad at me?" He muttered.

"Well," She sighed. "I was because I was meant to be planning all this and you had me sleep through half the day and Flo ended up covering most of it."

"All of this?" He asked, still puzzled and still hurt.

"Yep!" She grinned. "I planned you a welcome back party but obviously you came back early and my plans all went down the drain." She rolled her eyes before continuing, "So I had to re-plan everything and everything almost went to waste for the second time but we salvaged it all for you. Though you weren't meant to come here so early." She frowned and motioned towards the sun, still high in the sky.

"Well, I could disappear and you know, do some more laps or some-"

"No!" Sally interrupted sharply. "I'd rather have you right here, ruining the party than ruining your engine." She smiled and lovingly nudged him.

"You know, I thought you were really mad at me." He muttered sadly.

"I'm sorry Stickers." She sighed, "I didn't mean what I said, I'm just really stressed right now and as much as I have loved seeing you early it's not really a good time for me."

He frowned slightly, "I'm sorry too." He admitted.

She looked at him, confused. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted.

"And so I've decided to give up racing." He concluded.

Sally's jaw dropped and the once lively crowd went dead silent, all their eyes fixated on him.

"I've realised something." He continued, "Sally is more important to me than any empty cup I'll ever get." He smiled glancing at Doc, who stared bewilderedly back.

"Stickers you-" Sally said sheepishly.

"No don't bother I've already made up my mind." He grinned.

She shook her head with disbelief, "No Stickers I won't let you give up racing without a good reason. And before you say it, me snapping at you once is not a good reason!"

"Sal please." He smiled softly.

"No." She said firmly, frowning at him. "I'm not letting you give it up and that is that. Anyway, we can talk about this later; right now you have a party to enjoy." She smiled. "Come on everyone let's get that neon on and start cruising!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd as they dispersed onto the road. Lightning frowned at Sally who was smiling at him.

"Sally please, I want to do this." He persisted.

"No." She said firmly, shaking her head in disagreement. "I know you don't want to give up racing but I was thinking, maybe I could come along with you sometimes. Maybe even take over as your crew chief. I mean look at Doc, he's getting too old for this." She glanced at Doc with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"You want to be my crew chief?" He asked, astonished.

She nodded gently, "Only if you want me to." She added.

"Yes Sal! A million times yes!" He grinned. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to finally say, Lightning, let me come see you race!" With that he kissed her passionately. "I don't want to stop racing." He admitted, "But I also don't want to lose you, if you come along we'll be inseparable."

She smiled, "Okay Stickers. Come on, let's cruise!" She invited.

"My pleasure!" He grinned as they both sped at the road before settling into a slow cruise rhythm.


	6. Cozy at the cone

**WARNING! – This is where the mature rating comes into play. Do not read any further if you are not into hot car action! Seriously though, I have warned you, don't judge what's in my mind. xD**

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By the time they had finished the town cruise and enjoyed quite a lot of gasohol, twilight was setting in. Both Lightning and Sally were partially drunk for the first time in a long time.

"You wanna go back to my cone?" Sally smirked suggestively as they pulled off the road.

"And do what exactly?" He grinned back.

"Oh I don't know…" She shrugged, "Maybe we could do some naughty stuff?" She purred a seductive voice.

"Oh I'd like that." He winked, the gasohol talking for him.

They made their way towards the Cozy Cone. Lightning looked up, stars twinkled bright and their dazzling light was reflected by Sally's gorgeous colouring perfectly. He released a joyful sigh as he eyed up the tattoo slapped in the middle of her rear end. Oh he wanted her so badly. Sally arrived at her own cone, which was bigger than the others, and pushed a button to open the door. She drove inside and turned around, watching his every move as he slowly made his way in behind her, hitting the button to close the door with his back tire.

"Are you sure you want to do this Sal?" He asked shyly but confidently, making sure the Porsche was positive she wanted to hand over her body to him.

She hesitated slightly, "Why? Don't you want to?"

"Sally you have no idea how much I want to. I've wanted to for months but I want to make sure you're ready first." This time in a bolder tone but still overwhelmed by nerves.

"I'm ready Stickers." She smiled shyly, trying to put on a seductive face again. "This is my first time though, I don't really know what I'm doing." She admitted.

"That's okay." He smiled, driving forwards to back her into the corner of their cone. "It's mine too, we can figure it out together." He winked lazily.

Her mouth fell open, "This is your first time, seriously?" She asked in a shocked tone.

"Yeah." He chuckled, "I may have been the most famous rookie with girls swooning over me everywhere I went but, I had some morals." He said proudly.

"Oh Stickers." She purred, "I know what I want to do to you." She grinned and drove at him, nuzzling her way under his bumper until his front wheels were either side of her roof. She gazed at the long pipe before her, she had no idea he would be this big. She gently licked the tip and he twitched with pleasure.

"Oh Sal." He moaned, "It's so good already."

She smirked and took about 3 inches of his member into her mouth, her tongue lightly dancing over every inch. He squirmed with pleasure as his tires lost their grip on the ground and began to roll backwards. He hit the opposite wall of the cone with such force that he dented his spoiler and pushed his entire length into Sally's mouth.

"Ahhh!" He moaned, a mixture of pain and pleasure.

Sally gagged a little but soon got used to the sensation and began moving up and down his shaft, sucking him softly and first but became rougher once she found her rhythm.

He moaned louder with each down stroke. Until he couldn't take anymore.

"Sal! Stop!" He moaned, trying to pull himself off her, but she was having none of it. "Sal…" He panted, "Please, I need to… Return… The favour." He gasped.

"Mmm…" She moaned, causing small vibrations throughout his length.

"Ahh Sal! Stop! Please!" He begged, "I'm gonna… Uhh!" He moaned loudly, thrusting himself into her mouth as deep as he could, revving his engine harder than he had ever before.

"Oh god…" He panted, relaxing himself onto her roof.

Sally reversed slowly until he had all 4 wheels on the ground. She licked some oil from around her lips.

"Mmm Stickers you taste so good," She groaned, nuzzling his bumper.

"Sally..." He panted, "T-That was amazing," He stuttered, closing his eyes and allowing his tires to go floppy, reliving every blissful second he had just experienced.

She gazed at him and gave a warm smile before hitting a button with her tire that caused a thin mattress to be lowered from the ceiling onto the floor of the cone.

"Hey Stickers." She nudged his bumper causing him to wearily open his eyes.

"Mmm… What?" He groaned happily.

"It's getting late." She smiled, "Come on, let's sleep together."

With that his eyes opened fully and he rolled himself on to the mattress before settling into his previous position, shutting his eyes once again.

She could tell he was already asleep, a grin spread across her face.

"Goodnight baby." She whispered, kissing his bonnet softly before pulling a blanket over them and settling herself into a comfortable position next to him.

She let out a sigh of relief, glad she had finally got around to doing something she had longed to do for such a long time.

"I don't see you very much." She whispered to herself. "I wish you were here more often, I miss just talking to you about anything and everything. I don't particularly want to be involved with your racing life." She sighed. "Well your career can't last much longer can it? Racers never do." She sighed again, shaking her head before closing her eyes and drifting off.


	7. Hungover

"Mmm…" Lightning groaned sleepily. He opened his eyes slowly and yawned before closing them again. He felt the sun's heat warming him through the window of the cone.

"Must be time to get up." He muttered as he stretched out his front wheels as far as they could go and pawed at the ground with them before retracting them back to their usual position.

He yawned again and rolled forward off the mattress and pushed the button to open the door. A sudden sharp pain in his spoiler froze him for a moment but he quickly recovered. As the door rolled up the full heat and brightness of the sun hit him as he opened his eyes and squinted instantaneously. He drove out slowly, hitting the outside button with his back tire to close the door behind him.

"Wait." He paused. "This isn't my cone." He realised as he was approaching the Cozy Cone office from the left side rather than the right side. He turned around to look at the cone he had emerged from.

"Sally?" He mouthed, a little shocked. "What happened last night?" He stayed parked for a few minutes trying to remember the events of last night. "Well I guess Sally would know, I'll have to ask her." He shrugged as he drove to the office in search of her.

"Sally?" He called as he approached the entrance. "You here?"

"One second!" He heard a muffled voice yell back.

He smiled and drove inside. "Where are you?"

"I'm here!" He heard again, as Sally appeared from a small room at the back of her office. Piles of paperwork covered her hood.

"Looks like you're busy." He observed.

"Yeah." She sighed as she dropped the pile onto her desk before motoring over to him and giving him a small kiss. "Morning." She smiled.

"I think you mean afternoon." He chuckled, motioning to the clock that read 12:22.

"Oops." She laughed. "Oh man I forgot breakfast again." She sighed.

"You haven't had anything yet? It's practically lunch time Sal, eating is important!" He joked.

"Well I'm a little busy as you can see, I don't really have time for eating at the moment."

"You need to make room for eating." He insisted, "Come on let's go and get something at Flo's, you can't keep running on an empty tank Sal."

She groaned a little, "But I'm so behind on all of this stuff… Being an attorney is hard." She huffed.

"You'll feel better if you have something, come on. I won't let you starve." He reversed out of the door and motioned her to follow.

"Alright." She sighed happily, "I guess it is break time."

"How long have you been working for?" He asked as they drove along to Flo's.

"Uh not long." She said quietly.

"Truthfully Sal…" He pressed.

She groaned a little. "Since about 6 maybe…"

"Sally Carrera, why do you do this?" He sighed.

"Because, Lightning McQueen, I have deadlines to meet constantly. I can't put off work for long and I didn't do anything yesterday thanks to you making me go camping." She giggled.

They arrived at Flo's and settled down next to a gas pump in the shade.

"Why don't you quit your job?" He asked slowly. "You deserve a happier life."

She smiled and sighed happily, "I would love to quit." She admitted, "Unfortunately I do have to make money somehow and that somehow happens to be my job as an attorney."

"Sal…" He said quietly, "I'm not exactly short on cash-"

"Nuh uh." She interrupted him, "I am not taking your charity Mr McQueen." She giggled.

"Oh come on." He persisted, "Sal I want to spend more time with you. I'd spend everything on you to make you happy."

"Nah." She said politely, "You spending everything on me would make me the complete opposite of happy, by the way!"

"But Sal-"

With that Flo approached them and pushed a can of oil at both of them.

"How you feelin' now hun?" Flo asked Sally. "And you too Lightning! You both had a little too much to drink last night!" She chuckled.

"Oh much better, thanks." Sally smiled.

"Yeah." Lightning nodded in agreement, remembering that he needed to ask Sally what actually happened.

"Alright good!" Flo smiled, "Have a nice day you two!" She called as she drove back into the café.

"What happened last night Sal?" He asked, "I don't remember if I'm honest…"

"Oh." She said bluntly, "Well I invited you to my cone and it went from there." She said, glancing at his spoiler and giggling to herself.

"Wow. What did we do?" He asked inquisitively.

"We didn't go all the way if that's what you mean." She said quickly.

"Oh good." He sighed with relief.

"Good?" She coughed, chocking on her oil with shock.

"Oh no no no! I didn't mean it like that!" He added hastily. "I mean good because I want to remember the night we do it for the first time you know." He sighed happily as he watched her expression change from confusion to a soft smile.

"I love you." She smiled and nuzzled him. "But right now I need to get back to my paperwork, I can hear it calling me from here." She sighed. "I'll tell you all the details later okay." She grinned.

"I look forward to hearing it." He said excitedly, biting his lip.

"See you later." She added as she drove away. "Oh and your spoiler looks pretty bad from the back!" She yelled and drove off quickly.

"My spoiler?" He shouted to her but she was gone. He wondered to himself "What's wrong with it? If only I could see behind there." He huffed.

"Oh well." He muttered, "I guess I'll find out later. Now what to do…" He pondered and drove in small circles before eyeing up Willy's Butte.

"Well, some practice can't hurt. Mays well keep in shape." He smiled as he headed off towards the track.


	8. Oh paperwork

**Please leave me reviews! Even if they are short they all mean a lot to me, I mainly write more chapters after seeing new reviews, it motivates me. So yeah, if you want more chapters remember to review, please! :3**

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Sally let out a deep sigh. After being parked at her desk for several solid hours she was beginning to become annoyed.

"This paperwork is taking forever." She muttered, stamping another page with her tire.

"Paper, stamp, paper, stamp, paper, stamp." She repeated to herself. "Ugh this paperwork doesn't even require a brain!" She cried.

Somehow Sally always ended up getting the boring paperwork that could be done by a brainless car. She sighed again and looked over at the clock. It read 4:48 PM.

"How long have I been here?" She groaned.

She had been thinking long and hard about what Lightning had offered her earlier. As much as she would love to quit this job and relax she couldn't. She no longer worked as a "real" attorney, she mainly spent her days filling out or stamping paperwork already completed by her colleagues in the bigger cities like LA. She was just the paperwork girl and earned pittance for it. She sighed again, at least the pile was much smaller than it was a few hours earlier.

"Maybe I can take a break?" She questioned herself. "I've got through a lot of this in just a couple hours, I could come back to it later, no problem." She concluded.

"I wonder what my Stickers will be up to." She smiled to herself as she drove out from the office and headed to Flo's, expecting to find him there.

"Hey Flo." She smiled, "Have you seen Lightning?"

Flo was just driving out of the café. "Hun, the last time I saw him was when I gave you two some oil!" She chuckled and began collecting empty cans from around the station.

"Huh…" Sally wondered. "Could I get some oil please Flo, I'm feeling a bit low in all this heat."

"Comin' right up!" She chimed, heading back inside the café.

"Where's he gone then?" She thought to herself. "Maybe he's off with Mater somewhere."

"Here ya go!" Flo interrupted her thoughts, "One ice cold oil for ya hun." She smiled and continued collecting empty cans.

"Thanks." She said quietly and began sipping the oil.

The town was very quiet today, as it was for most of the summer. Few cars dared to venture outside for too long in fear of overheating. She sucked up the last few drops of oil from her can and looked around slowly. With that the silence was interrupted by Mater's loudness. He pulled up alongside Sally with the usual lemon, Otis, being towed behind him.

"Thanks again Mater." Otis said gratefully. "One day I will make it out of here!"

"Ain't nothin' tuh be ashamed of." Mater smiled, "Lotsa people overheat in this weather!"

He noticed Sally next to him and turned to her, "Hey miss Sally!" He beamed.

"Heya Mater." She smiled back. "Have you seen Lightning today?" She asked.

"Well sure!" He chuckled. "He was down on the track doin' some laps. Ya know, tuh keep himself in that sexy shape of his you like so much."

"Of course… Why didn't I think of that sooner." She mentally scolded herself. "Thanks Mater." She added as she drove off towards the track.

"Ugh how many times do I have to tell him!" She grunted. "It's too hot to be doing laps!"

She arrived at the edge of the track and looked down to see him tearing through the track, sending showers of dirt behind him. All the sounds of a powerful engine filled the air as he drove. Not even Doc was out in this weather. She sighed angrily to herself.

"Stickers!" She yelled, trying to catch his attention. He thundered past her, his engine revving blocking out her feeble attempt to attract him.

She waited until he'd done his special turn thing as she affectionately called it, and was approaching her once more.

"Stickers!" She called again, "Stickers!"

This time he heard her and looked up at her and smiled, "Hey Sally!"

"I told you no laps!" She cried.

"One more!" He called back, pushing himself faster.

She looked away grumbled to herself. "Why do men have to be so difficult? I swear to the manufacturer one day he's gonna get it."

Suddenly there was a loud bang followed by a deadly silence. She looked over to her right at the first turn of the track. There were clouds of dust everywhere but, no Lightning? She stared harder at the area.

"Wait. That's not dust. That's… Smoke!" She cried, speeding towards the turn. Tears were already forming at the base of her windshield but she refused to let them fall.

"No no no…" She chanted. "Not again!"

The smoke was thick and she struggled to see where she was going until she saw a bright red object slumped behind the rocks caught her eye.

"Lightning? Lightning baby?" She cried as she looked over him.

He was battered and dented and there was smoke erupting from the joins of his hood. One of his tires had burst and his eyes were closed tightly as he lay there, lifelessly.

"No no no!" She choked back tears and opened up his hood to allow smoke to escape easier.

She coughed at the huge volume of smoke pouring out of him.

"No not again!" She groaned and nuzzled him gently before kissing his fender.

"Lightning…" She whispered tearfully. Trying to coax him back in to life, nudging him gently once more. "Stay put baby I'll be back soon with help." She sniffed. "Just hang on…"


	9. In a slump

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Words couldn't describe how awful Sally felt. There she was, slumped against a corridor wall. She didn't know how long she had been here, it felt like an eternity. It took her every ounce of energy to bring her eyes towards the clock hung high on the white wall. She looked down slowly and sunk her body closer to the ground. Tears formed at the base of her windshield and she closed her eyes to let them flow freely down her sides.

"This is it." She thought to herself. "This is how I'm going to lose the love of my life."

She winced at the thought. His engine had overheated once again, right as he was coming out of the first turn. She shuddered as she reflected on the last few moments he was really alive.

The doctor's words echoed through her head. "There's only a very slim chance he will make it, I'm sorry Miss Carrera."

She lowered herself further and scrunched her eyes up tightly. She didn't want to believe what they had said. Her tears continued to fall, forming small puddles either side of her.

"Sally?" A voice interrupted.

Her eyes shot open to find Doc looking at her sympathetically. He gently nudged her right fender and a small smile emerged on her face.

"Sally I know this is difficult." He said, his sadness audible in every syllable. "But you need to be in there next to him." He continued.

"I… I know." She stammered, fighting back more tears. "It's hard you know-" Her voice cracked mid-sentence and tears trickled down her once more.

"Sally, please." His eyes pleading with her.

"Okay." She whispered sadly. "Just... Let me get myself together a bit." She said slowly, blinking hard.

"Alright." He said softly. "I'll be there too, you're not alone here." He reminded her before driving towards Lightning's room.

She watched him go and let out a deep sigh. She began mentally preparing herself to follow Doc into his room. The room her love was practically lying dead in. She choked on the thought.

"Okay." She whispered to herself. "Come on Sally, Lightning needs you."

She took a deep breath and slowly began driving forwards, fighting back the tears as best she could. She nudged the door open and drove inside, slowly pushing the door closed behind her. Doc smiled weakly as she came in and encouraged her to come forward. She obeyed and parked up alongside Doc who was watching Lightning from the right side of his bed. She looked over him. He wasn't disfigured or destroyed, simply scratched and dented a little along with a flat tire. His engine had overheated, taking his life with him. He was just a lifeless body for now. Breathing for himself but, not actually being there.

She pushed her tire against Doc's and sighed quietly, examining her love, before opening her mouth slightly.

"Hey Stickers." She whispered tearfully. "I'm really missing you. Please come back to me."

Doc gave her a gentle nudge, urging her to go on. She understood and took a deep breath before continuing.

"I mean, hurry up and come back to me." She teased him slightly, "I know you're going to come back but could you hurry it up? When has Lightning McQueen ever done anything slowly?"

A small smile crept onto her face and she lowered her head a little to fight more tears. Doc pushed his tire against hers and she gripped it tightly.

"Shall I give you two some alone time?" Doc asked quietly. Sally nodded slightly and released Doc's tire. He nudged her gently before leaving.

As he opened the door he turned around slowly. "He's a strong kid Sally, I have every confidence in him to come out of this fighting."

"Thanks Doc." She said tearfully as he left the room.

She edged a little closer to his bed, getting a better look at her love.

"I'm going to be here the whole time you know. Same as last time." She smiled weakly, "I won't let you do this alone."

Her eyes scanned around the room as she searched for more to say to him, but the words were difficult to find.

She finally announced; "I've been thinking about a lot of things." She paused slightly before continuing.

"When you come back to me… I think I will quit my job and start living the life I'm accustomed to." She joked. "But that means you have to come back first." She added.

A few minutes of deadly silence passed before she found more to say.

"I know it's early for me to expect you to be here." She muttered, "So I'm going to try and get some sleep okay?" She stared at him hopefully, searching for some kind of response, but there was nothing. She sunk her body lower and looked down, tears forming once again.

"Thanks baby." She said tearfully as she kissed his fender softly.

She reversed slightly and parked herself so that she could see him all night long. She sunk her body lower than ever and allowed the tears to fall once again then closed her eyes tightly.

"I love you." She whispered quietly before drifting off into her dreamland. A dreamland where Lightning was fit, healthy and immune to overheating.


End file.
